Two apartments under lens

MUMBAI: Two adjacent Adarsh flats measuring 650 sq ft each, financed by Kolhapur-based builder Umesh Shinde, has come under the scanner of the Adarsh judicial commission. Vishwas Chougule, a retired teacher who used to work at an educational institution run by Vidyapeeth Society, was allotted flat number 1904, while his former colleague Raghunath Bhosale (57) was allotted a neighbouring flat in Adarsh.
Shinde, the chairman of Vidyapeeth Society, runs Raj Devendra Construction Ltd. He had given loans of Rs 38 lakh each to Chougule and Bhosale to buy the flats. Interestingly, both Chougule and Bhosale gave Shinde’s residence as their “c/o addresses”.
On Wednesday, Chougule told the commission that Shinde had directly paid the amount to the society. “I did not execute any document in favour of Shinde. I only handed over the society’s share certificate to him,” said Chougule. “The loan given by Shinde was an interest-free loan. I haven’t repaid the loan and Shinde did not make any demand in writing for its repayment.”
Bhosale made similar statements to the commission last week, saying Shinde had taken the society’s share certificate from him as security.
The commission pointedly asked Chougule: “Is it correct to say that the flat has been bought by Shinde in your name?” Chougule denied this. Bhosale too was asked by the commission if his flat had actually been purchased by Shinde. “No. The flat is purchased by me,” insisted Bhosale. Curiously, both Chougule and Bhosale had also taken loans of around Rs 13 lakh each from businessman Sangaram Gade. “I applied for membership of Adarsh only because Bhosale told me to do so; otherwise , I had no intention of becoming a member of the society,” claimed Chougule.